“Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Matthew 20:29-34
Wouldn’t
you say that Jesus was pretty observant? He had an uncanny ability to know what
people were really thinking. He was able to see behind the masks that people
wear to hide their true self, and understood what was actually motivating them.
He could look into your soul, and know what your greatest need was.
So
then, why did he ask the two blind men, “What
do you want me to do for you”?
Was
he preoccupied with what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem? Maybe he was distracted
by the large crowd around him? Or, was he still upset that two of his closest
disciples had just asked the most self-centered question possible right after
he had told them he was going to be crucified? I don’t think so.
I
believe that he was making a point. It was obvious that these men were blind,
and despite their handicap, they knew who Jesus was. By calling him the “Son of David”, they were using a title
that referred to the anticipated Messiah. It would have been easy for Jesus to
just walk up to them and heal them; but he didn’t.
The
passage tells us that “Jesus had
compassion on them and touched their eyes”. Jesus always had a personal
touch when he ministered or healed. He interacted with the woman at the well;
with Nicodemus; with the woman who dried her tears on his feet. In other words,
he had a personal relationship with them.
The
same is true for us. Jesus desires to know us personally. He wants to interact
with us. He wants us to admit our need; to recognize who he is and to approach
him, not like he is a celestial genie in a bottle, but as our Lord and Savior.
There
is a booklet titled “My Heart, Christ’s Home” by Robert Boyd Munger. In it, he
compares our life to the rooms of a house. He suggests that Jesus wants to interact
with us in every room; but mainly that he wants to fellowship with us.
Revelation
3:20 states, “Look! I stand at the door
and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will
share a meal together as friends”. Jesus is constantly standing at the door
of your heart and knocking, not just as your Savior, but also as your Lord.
Will you open the door for him?
He
asks us every day, “What do you want me
to do for you”. What will your answer be? Will you ultimately respond like
the blind men who once Jesus touched their eyes, “immediately they received their sight and followed him”?
